Sebastien Loeb explains the issue he faced with his Puma after the end of Stage 8 which led him to retire for the rest of Saturday.
The nine-time World Rally Champion was leading Acropolis Rally at the end of Stage 8, but he was forced to retire after that stage due to an alternator issue.
Despite the fact that he and Isabelle Galmiche were working on their Puma on the road section after SS8, M-Sport Ford decided to retire the car as they dropped many time.
In addition to that, the British team announced that the crew will not restart on Sunday under the regulations of Rally2 as Loeb believes that there is no point to continue considering the fact that he will score zero points and he probably steal some Powerstage points from the drivers who are fighting for the championship.
"I think the bearing of the alternator broke", Loeb said.
"The two wheels were not in the same position and I think the alternator was not turning.
"So it was blocked and when the engine was running, the belts jumped off.
"It was very difficult to access the alternator; we had to take off the inside of the wheel, the protection, then from the top I had to remove the big fan.
"But to remove this one I had to disconnect the tube between the turbo and the intercooler.
"And then I had also to take off some other things.
"So at the end, we were out of time.
"Finally I decided to continue after, to finish the job correctly, so I take off everything and make the alternator loose to be able to put the belt and make it strong.
"Then I finished the job, rebuilt everything, and started.
"It was downhill so we could start by rolling.
"Engine started, 200 meters, switch off.
"I checked and the belt had jumped off again".
Source: DirtFish.com
Photo Credits: M-Sport
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